NLC Grad's Leadership Journey: Training and Networking Are Key

(From Neighborhood Leader, Spring 2007 issue)

There is no question that the Reverend Ric Wilberg was already a grassroots community leader long before he graduated from Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland (Class 22) in the spring of 2006.

Back in 2004 Rev. Wilberg, then the pastor at Denison Avenue United Church of Christ, had taken the initiative to address a need that he saw in Cleveland's West Side neighborhoods: He and his wife, Barbara, created the Joyful Noise Music School, a free music school for children who cannot afford music lessons.

One might think that a person such as Rev. Wilberg—a longtime pastor and successful program founder—would hardly need a program like Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland. Yet his experiences over the past few years demonstrate the many benefits of participating in the Neighborhood Leadership Institute's growing network of grassroots leaders, training programs, and institutional partnerships.

The Joyful Noise Music School began late in the 2003-2004 school year with 13 students. With an eye toward expanding the program for the 2004-2005 school year, Rev. Wilberg applied for and received a grant from Neighborhood Connections, a Cleveland Foundation initiative that provides small grants to neighborhood projects in Cleveland.

It was through Neighborhood Connections that Rev. Wilberg first came in contact with the Neighborhood Leadership Institute (NLI). Since the inception of the small grants program, Neighborhood Connections has contracted with NLI to provide technical assistance to grantees. Rev. Wilberg worked with then-NLI staff member Lee Gleason Kay (Class 15).

In the fall of 2005, Kay urged Rev. Wilberg to apply to Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland. At first Rev. Wilberg dismissed the idea, telling Kay that a younger person would surely be a better fit for the class. But Kay persisted, explaining to Rev. Wilberg that class members typically ranged in age from 20 to 80 and that the diversity of participants was one of the program's greatest strengths.

Rev. Wilberg submitted his application, and he was called in for an interview. When he arrived for his interview, Rev. Wilberg encountered a familiar face in NLI board member Julie Candela (Class 15), whom he had met years before when Candela was running for the Ward 18 City Council seat.

Candela recommended Rev. Wilberg for admission to Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland, but she did not stop there. Candela works at Baldwin-Wallace College, an institution renowned for its music programs. She put Rev. Wilberg in touch with the director of one of the college's summer music programs. As a result of that connection, Baldwin-Wallace offered to reserve six scholarships for Joyful Noise students to attend a summer music camp at the college.

When Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland classes began, Rev. Wilberg quickly established a strong rapport with his diverse classmates, including Sarah Beiderman, a residency coordinator for the SPACES art gallery in Cleveland. Impressed with Beiderman's knowledge of and commitment to the arts, Rev. Wilberg invited her to serve as a board member for Joyful Noise.

Beiderman has thrown her energies into supporting Joyful Noise. In February she turned her birthday party into a fundraiser for the music school.

After his graduation from Neighborhood Leadership Cleveland, Rev. Wilberg joined another Cleveland Foundation program, Project Access. Project Access, which the foundation operates in partnership with the Board of County Commissioners, helps faith-based and community-based organizations build organizational capacity. Included among the "coaches" who provide training are NLI's Don Slocum and Jacquie Gillon.

"We knew we needed some more training," says Rev. Wilberg. Project Access sessions addressed topics important to his growing program, including fundraising, strategic planning, recruitment, volunteer management, and marketing.

Upon Rev. Wilberg's completion of the training program, Project Access made a grant of $5,000 to Joyful Noise for marketing and strategic planning. Rev. Wilberg hopes to develop a strategic plan that will serve as a roadmap for expanding the program.

From the initial class of 13 students, Joyful Noise has grown to include 105 children in the current program year. Rev. Wilberg would like to see the program develop the capacity to serve 250 children. He would also like to expand the program offerings beyond instrumental music. This year's program includes the first classes in vocal music and a new partnership with Lakewood's Beck Center that makes drama classes available. Rev. Wilberg hopes to add a dance class next year.

While Joyful Noise may hire its first staff person (part-time) next year, the program's accomplishments to date have been powered entirely by volunteers. Fourteen volunteer instructors, whose musical backgrounds vary from Juilliard-trained to self-taught, provide the instruction. Rev. Wilberg says of the program, "It really is a great testimony to volunteerism."

And to what grassroots leaders can accomplish when they connect with and learn from one another.